The Timeform TV Focus team pick out the best bets for the ITV racing at Aintree on Friday.
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Aintree
1.45 0.5 pt – 4 Jordans
There might only be eight runners, but the Mildmay will surely be strongly run, with the top two in the betting Handstands and Caldwell Potter, plus the likes of Don’t Rightly Know, Dancing City and The Changing Man, all likely to be keen to go forward. In such circumstances, it might be worth trying to find something that will be ridden patiently, and Jordans fits the bill. He only joined Joseph O’Brien at the start of the season and has run well on each of his completed outings since, especially when second to Impaire et Passe (form that looks all the better after Thursday’s Manifesto) in a Grade 1 at Limerick just after Christmas and when fifth from a lofty mark in the Plate at the Festival last time out. He was a bit better than the result at Cheltenham, considering he had to switch on the home turn then lost momentum with a mistake two out, and the way he plugged on suggests he’s worth a try at this sort of trip. Those pieces of form aren’t far behind the best on offer here, and a bit more progress hardly looks out of the question, especially if the race does develop to suit something that sits off the early pace.
2.20 0.5 pt ew – 6 Western Walk & 15 Ike Sport
A number of these are stepping up in trip and it’s quite possible the longer distance will bring about improvement from the likes of Wreckless Eric, Hansard, Favour And Fortune and Gin Coco, making for a particularly tricky-looking puzzle, and the advice is to keep stakes low and have a couple of stabs at big prices. Western Walk has done well since joining his current yard, and on several pieces of form he’s got a better chance than his odds on Thursday afternoon suggest. Encouragingly, his close fourth at Punchestown last spring (when in front jumping the last) came on his second run after a year off, and he arrives on the back of a much better reappearance this time around, when arguably shaping second best despite finishing only seventh at Naas last month, paying the price for a big forward move after the third last. He does have a higher mark in Britain to contend with, but he’s one of just three Irish raiders and it’s worth remembering that Irish-trained runners won four of the five handicap hurdles at Cheltenham.
Ike Sport is more speculative on this season’s form, but he’s dropped 6 lb since the beginning of the campaign, went with a lot more zest than a mid-field finish in the Coral Cup might suggest, and it’s less than a year since he ran out a very ready winner of a competitive Sandown handicap hurdle on the final day of last season. He may run poorly but, given he has a hood added to the cheekpieces and tongue tie and represents a yard churning out winners with regularity this spring, he’s worth a dart at huge odds.
2.55 0.5 pt – 2 Jet To Vegas
The last three winners of this had made the frame in the Supreme on their previous start and Romeo Coolio bids to make it four having found only Kopek des Bordes and William Munny too good at Cheltenham. That form is undoubtedly better than any of his rivals in this have achieved, the concern being whether Romeo Coolio will be in the same form three weeks on having given his all under a positive ride at Cheltenham. If he is, the chances are that’ll be enough to see him come out on top, but at only a shade more than odds against we’re quite happy to let him win. The problem is finding something to take him on with. The highly progressive Tripoli Flyer is the obvious one, but he missed the Supreme with a temperature and had bled when winning the Dovecote on his previous start. As such, we’d rather reduce stakes on a longer-priced one, Jet To Vegas fitting the bill. Lucinda Russell has done very well in novice races at this meeting in recent years and Jet To Vegas is just the sort of progressive type that can take his form to another level in this. He impressed with both the way he travelled and the speed with which he jumped when getting the better of a Willie Mullins-trained one in a Grade 2 at Kelso last time out, fully in command late in the day and impressing as likely to be at least as effective faced with more of an emphasis on speed.
3.30 No bet advised
A rare jumping lapse did for Jonbon in the Champion Chase, but he’s still by some way the likeliest winner bidding to add a second Melling Chase (and a fourth straight win at this fixture) to his portfolio, with his main rival El Fabiolo having a bit to prove after four defeats in a row, three of them at odds on, and Protektorat’s best recent form lagging about 10 lb behind. The betting fully reflects all that, however, and there’s no real urge to get involved at the prices.
4.05 1 pt ew – 18 Bad
9/1 the field on Thursday afternoon is an accurate reflection of how open-looking the 2025 Topham is, yet finding something that’s got a much better chances than its price is far from straightforward. One who could relish the test is Bad. He’d gained a deserved reputation as a horse that promised more than he delivered prior to his last two starts, blinkers and more patient tactics enabling him to finally show what he can really do when winning a couple of handicaps at Kempton. It’s possible that a further 6 lb rise for the second of those successes will leave him vulnerable from a handicapping aspect now, but his strong-travelling style should be ideal for a race that’s likely to be run at a helter-skelter gallop and hopefully he can creep into things after halfway, worth having the places on side, too, given that most firms are offering at least the first 6.
4.40 1 pt – 5 Jacob’s Ladder
There’s loads of potential on show in the Sefton and it’s a tightly matched affair. The likes of Califet en Vol and Mister Meggit are very promising novices from the home-trained contingent, but Jacob’s Ladder for Gordon Elliott looks about the pick on form and is the one that appeals most at the prices. A rangy chasing type who’s only six races into his career, Jacob’s Ladder has got better with each of his three outings over hurdles so far and put up a useful effort when landing a Grade 3 at Naas when last seen in February. Jacob’s Ladder’s strength at the finish that day bodes very well for his prospects of improving further up at three miles, and that ought to put him right at the near-smart level it takes to go close in a typical renewal of this race.
You can access the TV Focus selections and rationale at 5pm the evening before racing for £7.50 on the Timeform website.
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